Searching for a Former Clarity
by SRC
Summary: It's kind of hard to wrap your head around it. When you find that one person who makes you feel whole, and makes you realize you were missing something so essential before. Funny, it's never who you expect it to be. TITLE CHANGE
1. Chapter 1

"Standing in the Way of Control"

Written by SRC

Chapter I

_"Look, Brian! There's a message in my cereal! It says "oooooh"."_

_"Peter. Those are Cheerio's."_

Milk and partially chewed up Fruit Loops, came spewing out of John Cena's mouth and running down is chin as he laughed out loud. He brought the bowl up to catch any mess that had not already landed on the floor in front of him and wiped at his mouth with the back of his old high school football team's sweatshirt sleeve. The soft navy blue cotton was already speckled with various stains from the bad habit.

Lounging on the typical springy, lumpy, hotel couch, in a pair of mesh gym shorts and a backwards Red Sox cap, he was also sporting a large heating pack that was sandwiched between the sweatshirt and a old ratty wife-beater. The wire snaked out from under his shirts and was plugged into the wall along with his laptop battery, where "Family Guy" was taking his mind off of a couple strained muscles and a headache that seemed to bloom from the back of his eyes.

It was the afternoon after the match between Hunter, Adam and he and he had been up since 8:00 am alternating between icing and heating his aching muscles. The three of them had practiced the scene a dozen times, nearly all of them flawless. But when Hunter went to slam him down, he fell directly on his back, instead of taking some of the impact into his legs like he had practiced. So, for the last day in Chicago, with no work tomorrow, John was stuck on a couch, not checking out Wrigley Field, or strolling down Michigan Avenue.

_This must be bad karma for something_, he thought as he readjusted the heating pack and turned his attention back to the monitor and Peter Griffin and pouring himself more Fruit Loops.

Just as he took a giant spoonful of fruity cereal into his mouth, Shawn Michaels knocks on the already open door.

" -slurp-Cmmnnn.-slurp-" More milk came out of his mouth as he tried to speak.

At some sort of recognition, Shawn stepped fully into the dimly lit room. The first thing he noticed was that the bed was still pristinely made with all corners still tucked in. But that was the only thing kept about the room; clothes were everywhere. T-shirts and jeans mostly, but also some dress shirts, ties and khakis from a few press conferences. Taco Bell bags were hap-hazardly crumpled up and thrown at the trashcan by the door; Cena only had about a 50 accuracy rate. Carefully maneuvering his frame around the clothes and garbage, he made his way over to the sofa where John had stationed himself.

As John swallowed the food, he looked up to see the Heartbreak Kid. Shawn was stylishly dressed in well fitted khaki cords, a snug zipped-up cobalt blue hooded sweatshirt that seemed to make his eyes even more blue, with a tweed sports blazer on top. His dirty blonde hair was pulled cleanly back in a ponytail.

He gave a crooked grin to the older man. "Hey, man."

Shawn leaned against the wall and crossed his arms across his chest and gave a nod of recognition.

Once again taking in the man casual attire, he asked, "So what did you do all day?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Walked around Michigan Ave. and Rush Street, then some of the girls wanted to go to the zoo, so we walked around Lincoln Park for a bit."

"You went to the zoo! I haven't been to the zoo in like, 18 years!" He tried not to make that sound as sulky as he wanted too.

Shawn looked at him strangely, "Ok? Are you a ten-year-old little girl? Or a 27 year-old-wrestler?"

"Don't be a smart-ass. I was stuck in this couch all day, while you were out there, walking around. Yeah I know, this is my own fault."

He walked over to where the young man was. "Are you still in that much pain? Because Between the pain killers and the icing and heating, you should be getting at least a fraction better."

"Yeah. I think it's just my muscles. I've just hit that stage where you have to get worse before it feels better."

Shawn put his hand the base of John's neck and massaged and watched as John immediately straightened up and squeezed his eyes shut. He laughed a little, "You'll be alright, kid."

He opened his eyes and scowled before rolling out his shoulder. "Oh well, thank you, Doctor."

Shawn let out a throaty, gruff laugh and smiled so big John got a glimpse of dimples and laugh lines. "don't be a smartass", he continued to chuckle.

John chuckled back, "so did you come to make fun of me, or did you have something else?" He continued to spoon in cereal and munch loudly.

"Yeah, totally. Um… right. So a couple of the guys and some of the girls are going to do the whole bar hopping scene. Hunter decided to take the Red-eye back a day early though. You in?"

"_Chris, you're hogging up all the fans."  
"Well, you're hogging up all the... ugly!"_

And with that line, John once again lost control and burst out laughing, spraying Shawn with a fine spray of milk.

Shawn just stood there with his mouth open. "That's disgusting, John." But Cena was to busy choking on fragmented fruit loops to comment back.

"What are you even watching? Cartoons?" as the older man focused on the monitor.

Still laughing, "What? Oh, yeah. Just think of it as this generation 'The Simpson's'."

Still watching the show and cracking a smile and a chuckle at the scene playing, Shawn grunted a 'huh.'.

"Hey you want to hang out here with me tonight? I was going to watch "Anchorman" for the 100th time." He gave Shawn puppy eyes. "And I'm in serious need for human interaction… I'll buy Chicago style pizza…" he bribed.

"Ha. You're funny, man. We're in Chicago, one of the biggest cities, and you want me to stay in and eat pizza with you?"

"And watch "Anchorman" John said defensively.

"No, man. Sorry. We have like one night off ever week. I need to get out of the hotel."

"Yeah, it's cool man. Have a good time." And he grabbed the blanket that had fallen to the floor and pulled it around his waist as he laid his head against the throw pillow propped up against the arm of the sofa and continued to watch Family Guy.

Shawn stared at the young man and watched him for a minute before turning to leave. "Feel better."

* * *

Notes:

This is my first wrestling fic. It's slash, because within the last two weeks or so, Cena and Michaels have been in the most compromising positions. I just had to do it.

Enjoy and Review.

Pee Ess. I don't own anything you recognize. Are we kosher?


	2. Chapter 2

"Standing in the Way of Control"

Written by SRC

Chapter II

It was only the second bar of the night, and it was only 8:45. He had seriously forgotten what it was like to go out for the soul purpose of getting shit-faced and then go out again to continue the process. Most of his co-workers that he had gone out with had pre-gamed in the hotel lobby, and were now all happily buzzed. Shawn has been talking with John, and had only two beers therefore making him the only sober one in the group.

Micky, Amy, Adam, Chris, Rob, Carlito, Trish and himself all sat around the bar table eating chips and salsa and munching on vegetables. The girls excused themselves to go to the bar and buy another round of shots.

"Hey, this is the last round here, then we're heading to ESPN sports zone for dinner. That cool with you guys?"

It was confirmed with a bunch of nods, and "alright's as they all downed there last shot and finished up the last of food.

Shawn got up to walk to the bar and pay for the tab. The girl working the bar saw him and gave a dazzling smile.

"Hey, you. What can I get you?"

"Umm, actually just the check, right now."

"Sure thing." And she handed over the receipt and he handed her an Amex Card.

"Ok, you're all set Mr. Michaels." And the card was handed over with the receipt and her phone number.

_Off at two._

_-Dana_

Was all it said.

He smiled and pocketed the receipt shaking his head. As he walked back to the table, everyone was putting on there jackets, ready to leave.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna take off for the night. You'll be ok without me?" As he eyed the tipsy girls.

"Awe Shawn! Come on! When do we get to go out anymore? When was the last time you hung out with us?" Amy pouted.

"Yeah Shawn. When was the last time you hung out with us." Adam mocked her. He was rewarded with a smack to the side of his head.

"Sorry guys, I got business to take care of."

The guys shared a look with each other. "He got a number".

"Oh man. How come the old guy is always the first to get the number? I mean, what the hell!"

Micky was the first to speak; "it's the smile with the dimples." They all turned to look at her. "What? It's so true".

Shawn laughed. "Mick's, you know you can give me your number anytime". And went to hug her goodnight.

"Shawn. Don't play dumb; you have my number". And she gave him a kiss on the cheek, "goodnight".

He gave all the girls hugs and left them with a, "Be safe, ok guys?"

He saw his friends into the taxi's and walked left to where he saw the nearest pizza place.

Scene change

He had the large pizza in one hand and the case of beer in the other. His own hotel card key was in his mouth and he was trying to knock on John's door with his knee.

"John! O'en-la-fuckin-oor!"

After about 30 seconds, John answered the door in a pair of sweats and ice pack pressed against the naked skin on small of his back.

As soon as John realized who it was, he grinned and stood to the side to allow Shawn to get by. "That better be pepperoni." And shut the door.

"Half onion, half pepperoni, your majesty" I said as placed the box on top of the beat up table. "So what are we watching, more cartoons?"

"You wish you knew the delicate humor of Family Guy. I just put in "The Best of Will Farrel, SNL"." Shawn had a questioning look on his face, "You know, Saturday Night Live?"

"Yeah, I got that one, Aristotle. The question is 'why', though?"

"Uh, Cause it's hilarious?" He grimaced and sat back down on the sofa still holding the ice pack in place."

Shawn sighed, "Turn over, kid."

"Hey, I don't know you that well, yet."

"Just do it, and no backtalk, glass jaw."

John sighed and defensively rubbed his jaw. "That punch from Hunter broke something…" he defended as he turned over onto his stomach and spread out on the worn out blue sofa with, er... conspicuous stains. "Watch your hands, Show-stopper."

"Shut up" was the only gruff response as he set his hands on top of his shoulders and started to gently massage the stiff muscles and worked into the base of his neck.

"Shawn, that tickles." He said with a smirk. And with that Shawn dug his fingers in deep to the trapezius. John arched his back up at the intense pain, "Ok, ow!"

"Shut up. You'll feel better within the hour." And John lowered his back and his head to fall within his arms as he closed his eyes. The veteran straddled his thighs.

Shawn mainly concentrated on the muscles around the spine and the serratus posterior superior. The knots and the strained muscles were intense and Shawn frowned as he ran his hands down to the base of the Johns spine. For the next 6 minutes he focused on finding each muscle and working it until the kinks had been worked out. John let out a moan every once in awhile.

Next Shawn let his fingers slide down to the sides of Cena's ribcage and he gently massaged the well defined sides until he reached the narrowing waist again and began to once again start to press the muscles to relieve the tension. All the while trying to swallow the lump that had proceeded to wedge itself in his throat as he ran his callused hands alone John's smooth, strong back.

After about 15 minutes, Shawn stopped and waited for John to say something, probably mocking his masculinity, but when he went to look around at John's face, he was asleep and breathing strongly and deeply.

As he moved off of John and the sofa to open the now cold pizza box, John's eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry, I drifted off. Dude, you have some hands, bro" as he locked eyes with Shawn.

Shawn looked around uncomfortably and took a large bite of pizza before saying, "Hey, shove over and let's watch this DVD".

Cena got up and popped the disc into his computer and Christopher Walkens was on the screen along with Will, Jimmy and the members of Blue Oyster Cult.

_"I got a fever and the only prescription is more cow-bell!"_

Shawn Michaels smiled and turned his head slightly to watch Johns face light up with dimples and crack up and snort with hysterics.

And that's pretty much how Shawn's last night in Chicago was spent.

_Good day_, he thought.

* * *

Hey all, it's the author, here!

77 hits and just 2 reviews? Ouch. If you all didn't like it you can tell me... in a review.

That being said:

Lana: Thanks for your support! I hope you like this chapter.

Kiora Storm: Thanks for the kind words! I love slash; it's almost all I read now! I don't know how I got so sucked in. I like the wrestlers better outside the ring because I can treat them like real people and they can complain about there jobs like real people too. Hope you like this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Standing in the Way of Control

By SRC

Chapter III

When John woke up the first thing he noticed was that his back didn't feel like it was on fire anymore. This alone made him breathe a happy sigh, re-close his eyes and deeply burrow back into his pillow. But, since when do pillows move up and down? And why was it, uh, kind of hard? He turned his face into it, and breathed in deep. And why does it smell like Axl body spray? _Wow. Hotels really went down in quality this year. _He thought.

That's when he felt the hand resting lightly on his hip. He slowly lifted his head and looked up to see Shawn fast asleep and slouched down in a reclined sitting position on the sofa. John himself was sprawled out along the sofa with his head resting on Shawn's abdomen.

Instead of freaking out, which is often the reaction Cena turns to in unknown situations, he stopped to observe Shawn for one of the first times without being noticed or interrupted.

Shawn's hair that was previously in a tight, neat ponytail was now tugged loose and curly strands of hair had escaped and fell around his sleeping features. Shawn's face was completely lax; all signs of stress had melted away with a night of laughing and pizza and R and R. John could see the laugh lines around his eyes and the sun from the window caught a couple of gray hairs along with his honey curls. But besides that, Shawn looked great for his age and John had to admire that.

John carefully lifted Shawn's well calloused hand off of him and slid off as stealthily as possible. Just as stood up and gave a big stretch and yawn, Shawn opened his eyes. John sat down on the floor as he watched the older man's eyes scan the room, searching for comprehension. When his blue eyes found John's familiar blue eyes, last night came flooding back to him, like high tide.

Shawn's first reactions were similar to John's himself. Don't _freak out, don't freak out._ John saw the deer stuck in headlights look.

"Dude. I totally fell asleep, twice, on you." John grinned light-heartedly. "I thought I had learned my lesson in college. Never fall asleep first with other guys in the room." He walked over to where a mirror hung over a set of drawers. He studied his reflection, scrubbed his hand over the stubble on his jaw and met Shawn's eyes through the mirror, "Thanks for not drawing a penis on my face" and gave a smirk and a wink.

Shawn just cracked up. "You are a wacky kid, Johnny-boy" and smiled sincerely, "But I like you."

John looked down and smiled. When he looked up and turned to face the other man, Shawn had stood up and was stretching with both his hands over his head and back arched. John could hear the vertebrae's and tendons crack and shift into place.

"Hey, Shawn, what time is it, anyway?"

"Uh, 7:30", he said looking at his watch.

"Did you want to go get some breakfast, or something? Cause I wouldn't say no to food." John asked, as his stomach groaned.

Shawn looked at his watch again before grabbing his cell phone from the coffee table, "No. I can't."

Johns friendly face began to fall, "Oh, ok; it's cool. Thanks for hanging out wi-"

"No! I mean… I can't. I already told the girls that I would go running with them at eight. We were going to grab something after that." He saw John's smile start to appear again. "But … you're feeling better, right? You could always come with us. We're running on the lake…"

John smiled at the thought of running and getting his heart rate up, "Yeah, I'm in!"

Shawn nodded, "Ok, get ready and packed because our plane leaves at two, and we should leave by one. I'm gonna wake up the girls and get packed." He started to walk out the door, "Meet you in the lobby in a half hour, Cena." And he quietly shut the door.

After about 10 minutes John had thrown nearly everything back into his suitcase. Set aside was a Pittsburg Steelers jersey and a pair of, what he hoped to be clean khakis for the plane along with some personal hygiene supplies. Also, he had left out a pair of mesh jersey shorts and white long sleeve thermal, and his high school sweatshirt.

He had just stripped down and changed his boxers, when he realized he had no idea were his sneakers were. While walking over to the couch he heard a knock followed by the door opening.

"Hey John, man, I can't find my-", and he stopped short to stare at John in nothing but his boxers before turning around and looking at his feet. "Oh, Jesus Christ. Sorry, John. … shouldn't have barged in … idiot".

John practically hurdled over the couch and fumbled while rapidly pulling up the mesh shorts. "Naw, man, it's totally cool. I mean, that's pretty much what I wrestle in, right?"

But they both knew it was different, subconsciously anyways.

"Hey, you decent now? Cause I can't find my room key."

"Yeah, you prude. Turn around and look down the cracks."

"What the hell?"

John smacked himself in the face with his hand and kept it there. "Uh… I mean… the sofa." He coughed out. And he internally continued to beat the shit out of himself.

"Oh… Right." And he went on the search for the card key. Within five minutes he had found the card and was walking towards the door again. "Ok, kid. See you in 15" and he left without looking back.

John ran his hands through his close cropped hair and went to looks for his Nike shocks.

AN:

Hey, there. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm in the middle of mid-terms right now so another update should be in a week.

Keep up the awesome reviews, they really help motivate me to write!

Skyqueen3 – Thanks for the encouragement. It sincerely helps me, and keeps me positive. Hope you like this chapter!

Ally – Thank you! I wish I had your faith! I hope reviews keep coming. Thanks so much for the support!

Lana – Thank you! I'll keep writing, if you keep reviewing.

Alliegirl4life – Hey! Thanks for the reviews and the nice comments back. Did you get the photos I sent you? Can you see why Cena/Michaels is so appealing to me now?

Dogtowngurl – Gosh, this is like the nicest review ever. I'm glad you think I captured their personalities well, because I'm taking a lot of liberties with them. I love love love SNL and Family Guy more then life itself so I'm sure there will be more of em'. I have never read any Cena/Michaels fiction before. Is there any you recommend?


	4. Chapter 4

"Standing in the Way of Control"

Written by SRC

Chapter IV

* * *

Ok guys, I can only ask that you all trust me in this story right now. This isn't the greatest chapter, but I worked super hard on it and I spent a lot of time on it. The reason it took so long was that I had test and mid terms coming up, so yeah. 

**I would love love love reviews. I need major feedback on this chapter before I send out the next chapter. Please.**

Oh yeah, I don't own anything you recognize; Just so ya know.

**Also (BEWARE: SHAMELESS PLUG):I wrote a story called "Whipping Boy" and it has my beloved Shawn and John in it. It's not really slash but, I'm sure ya'll are pretty imaginative (wink).

* * *

**

John heard the girls before he actually saw them.

John had so much respect for almost all of his colleagues. As a whole, they were the most professional, hard-working, helpful people John had ever even thought about working with; the girls especially.

They were truly the most dedicated individuals who took the most time in perfecting their craft and bettering themselves. They were gorgeous and lethal, but sweet and very talkative and sociable.

And John was a little bit afraid of them.

Before he rounded the corner he heard Maria's high pitched giggle and his blood ran cold for a second. He didn't understand his universal uneasiness around girls in general, but Maria was everything you could ask for; pretty, talented, easygoing, and she was hilarious. Probably one of the funniest girls John had ever met.

Everyone thought something might happen between the two of them; the ring-side chemistry defiantly there. And John wanted to like Maria. He really did. Every time she just rolled with the punches or quoted some stupid movie that John only thought he had seen, he wanted to get up the nerve and ask her out to dinner or take her to see a movie, talk about anything but work. But when he pictured himself at the dinner in an over starched suit with a choking stiff color and a silk tie, wrapped around like a noose, he swallowed down the question.

He couldn't, wouldn't, do that to himself.

When he walked in the room, Maria gave him a dazzling smile from the arm chair she was curled up in. Her face was washed free of makeup and had her thick hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. She had on a pair of black yoga pants that cut off mid calf, a pink sweatshirt that had "Hugs not drugs" in a big heart, and a pair Kelly green sneakers peaked out under her knees. She was also nursing a Venti-Starbucks-coffee-something, that was so big it nearly oversized her skinny arm. Trish was standing by the window talking on her cell phone in a hushed voice. She was dressed in a matching Adidas track suit with her hair in a long blonde braid down her back. She gave him a small wave when she saw him walk into the room and went back to her conversation.

"Morning John."

"Hey Maria", he took in her lack of makeup, her sleepy eyes, and large coffee, "Rough morning?" Maria was a sweetheart, but he had never seen her not made up like a movie star. With no thick, black lines surrounding her eyes she looked younger and even more approachable.

She looked shocked and hurt for a fraction of s second before she covered it up by giving him a mock glare for a moment. "I hate when people ask you that. It's just a nice way of saying that you look like shit."

John felt the blood drain from his face and his jaw go slack. What the fuck was he thinking? Telling a girl that she looked tired; _Amateur move, Cena. _He sputtered out words, but strung together they made no sense; "I-I-I … Maria - you know I think… I didn't mean that- … You're always-".

Maria just cracked up, "John! I'm joking. Besides, you know what they say about rough mornings, 'I like to call them good nights!'" she quoted with a wink.

John recognized the 'Dodge ball' line and lost it.

He was still laughing and bent over Maria's chair his forearm resting on the cushioned arm of the chair. Maria was now laughing too, with one hand covering her mouth as she let out a snort, which only caused them to both laugh harder.

Shawn walked noiseless into the room and stopped when he saw the two younger associates laughing intimately. He watched them with a sot of blank eyed expression on his face, before clearing his throat and screwing on a smile.

With barely a nod in Cena's direction, "Hey, Maria. Did you have fun last night?"

John snapped up from his position above Maria, and looked closely at the Heartbreak kid. He was dressed in black sweat shorts that hit just above his knees and he had on a thin heather gray t shirt with Aerosmith in cursive across the front. In his arm he had a dark green zip-up sweatshirt and his honey colored hair was restrained with a faded red bandana. After the once (or twice) over he grinned and jumped back into conversation, "From her last comment, I would say she had a -great- night" he snorted.

Shawn had to give a questioning grin to Cena for that comment and looked back at Maria on the chair. "What did you and Torrie end up doing?"

"We went salsa dancing and I got to catch up with a bunch of old friends from school." She laughed, "I think I was on, like, my fourth champagne and Red Bull, before I was completely gone. I can't remember what happened after that" she looked thoughtfully at John, "I hope I didn't do anything I might regret later." She looked back at Shawn, "So that's why I look like crap."

"Oh, darlin', you're just fishing for compliments. You're always beautiful; I love your hair all up, like that. Sexy, messy-bed head." He gave her another kind, sexy, smile.

Maria looked away and flushed happily before uncurling herself from the chair and walked over to Shawn. She stood on her tip-toes and gave him a kiss on his morning scruff covered cheek. "Thanks, Shawn-y." She turned to Cena and stuck her tongue out, "See? This is why Shawn gets the numbers."

John narrowed his eyes at Maria, sliding up the pair who were standing close together now and put on a fake shy smile and aiming it at Shawn.

When he was standing within two inches of the smaller man, "In that case …". He looked down at his shoes and started to nervously toe them into the carpet. "Gee, Shawn. … I had a really amazing time last night." He looked up mock-nervously at Shawn, who was trying not to laugh and ruin the act. John began to trace his fingertips up and down the smaller mans arm, "I hope you had a good time too?"

Shawn chocked back a snort, "… Yeah, whatever", he said in a mock, gruff voice. John continued the path up to Shawn's shoulder and trailed it lightly back down, nearly caressing the soft skin under his wrist and he had to suppress a shudder.

John didn't notice and continued the act, "So, you'll call me then? Tomorrow, even?" John made puppy eyes.

Back in character, Shawn sniffed non-committedly and rubbed his nose and his lips with his thumb, before shoving his hands into his pockets, "Yeah… whatever."

John and Shawn shared a look for a few moments, before both of them broke into a toothy grin. They looked over at Maria and the slight brunette was bent over her waist, shaking with laughter.

After regaining composure and breath, she smiled at the two men, "You guys are hilarious. Seriously, you work well off of each other! Wonder why Vince doesn't put you together more." She looked at John and smiled, "Most guys would never have gone that far with another guy."

John smirked at her, "Yeah, I go there." And he grinned a dimpled grin to the other man. The guys locked into another stare, before Maria linked arms with both of the guys and wedged her way between their bodies which had been in contact with each others throughout the last few minutes.

"So are we running or not? Trish! Stop yapping and let's go!"

Scene Change

They had been jogging for about a half hour down Addison Drive and they had just passed Wrigley field. They had let Maria lead them at her slow, but steady pace until they could see the lake, so they wouldn't get lost.

Shawn was itching to turn up the pace. He had become a runner once he stopped lifting weights so much. He knew he would never be able to get his physique back to what it had been 10 years ago, so he had completely re-vamped his workout. Instead of the intense weight-training he had oncebeen able to do in his sleep, he substituted most of it for long runs that cleared his mind and made his body long, lean and alkaline. He thought he would miss the bulk of his muscles, but this older, more agile body was growing on him fast. And if he was going to blow out his knees doing something, why not ruin them doing something he loved?

As soon as the lake was in view, he turned to face the girls who were only slightly in front of him, with John in the back of them.

Maria's face was covered with a slight sweat. Her breath came out in even puffs and her rhythm was perfectly steady. Torrie was fairing about the same, looking a little less tired, but in no shape to turn up the notch on the intensity. He snuck a glance back to John. The young man was trying to keep a steady pace that matched the girls, but Johns legs were just too long to comfortably keep up the pace for much longer; he had a bored look on his face, but Shawn saw that his eyes would wander from the back of Maria to where he was running.

When they had to stop at the next red light, Shawn turned to Maria and Torrie, "Is it ok if I run ahead, or should I stay with ya'll?" He asked with his hands on his hips.

Maria nodded at Trish, before waving him on, "Go for it, superman. You know I only have one speed; slow."

Torrie agreed, "Go for it, speedy. I'm still feeling last night's jello shots, or I would join you."

As soon as the light turned green, Shawn waved back to his group and shot off, following the trail that was parallel to the curvy coast of the sparkling blue Lake.

* * *

Hardygirl14: Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm so happy that you are enjoying this and this new pairing I seem to be thrusting upon the masses. The more I have been watching RAW lately, the more adorable and close they seem to get! I'm lovin' it! I'm glad you appreciate the detail I put into this story, because that is an important part of my writing. Hope you like this, and please keep the feedback-a-comin'! 

SSShirrleyy: Thanks! But I'm sure you could write a great m/m story. I mean, all it takes is a little inspiration! Just let me know when you do; I'll sure read it!

Bishie lovers 'R' us: Guh! I don't remember that scene! But you're so welcome with the whole pairing thing. I would love to read me some Cena/Michaels fic, but I can't find any! Hasn't RAW been amazing though? There getting beat up together so I bet they get revenge together too. Then, maybe they can celebrate together? Hmmm... Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!

DogTowngurl: The URLs got garbled by but thanks for trying! Hope you like this next chapter!

Sky-Queen3: I bet you could write some great Michaels/Cena fics. You should give it a shot if inspiration hits. Hope you like this chapter!

Sploink8654: Thank you for the review. I hope you continue to critique my work and that you continue to enjoy this. And when you do write your own fan fiction with Cena and Michaels I'll be sure to read it and most likely LOVE it. Hope you like this chapter and can stick with me through my shakey writing style and horrible spelling/run on sentences. Also, I did write another story with our two favorite gentlemen ("Whipping Boy")... you might want to check it out and, ha, ya know, review. Enjoy this chapter and continue with the reviewing (please!).


	5. Chapter 5

"Standing in the Way of Control"

Written by SRC

Chapter V

* * *

**So I'm kind of stuck on plot after this chapter plus real life is catching up. I'm officially moving out of my parents house (even though I haven't lived with them all year) and this summer is a big turning point in my life, Chicago will officially be my home, not New Jersey. I'm only 19 and a little afraid of completely being on my own. So updates, which were never very frequent will possibly be even less now, until at least September. Sorry guys, and wish me luck on finals.**

**You all kick so much ass for sticking with me and if you want to drop me a line, you can add me as a friend to livejournal. My name is: the(underscore)protagonist. I'd love to be friends with you, just let me know who you are, I say yes to everyone!**

Oh yeah, I don't own anything you recognize; Just so ya know.

**Also (BEWARE: SHAMELESS PLUG):I wrote a story called "Whipping Boy" and it has our beloved Shawn and John in it. It's not really slash but, I'm sure ya'll are pretty imaginative (wink).**

**On with the show...**

Pee Ess: The italics are flashbacks, but you may or may not have figured that out (thanks CenaLuver4433).

* * *

He wasn't sure how long he had been running, it couldn't have been longer then 15 minutes, before he heard someone come up behind him. John was running with his hoody pulled up over his ears his hands pumping by his waist. 

Shawn slowed down from his pace to allow for John to catch up and take a slower pace.

"Ok. -breathe- For an old guy, -breathe- you're fucking -breathe- fast." John wheezed out.

Shawn's face didn't even flinch, but faster than you can say "F-U" Shawn's right arm came out and hit John Cena's chin and he ran ahead resuming his normal pace, leaving John at a stand-still in the gravel path rubbing his chin and swearing.

Not long after, Shawn heard Cena galloping up to him, his heavy, uneasy steps sounded like a horse.

John settled into Shawn's pace before glancing over, "Fuck you, Michaels." And Shawn just laughed and continued to run until he didn't even notice the man next to him.

Running was the best way to clear his head, and after the last week or so, his thoughts needed to be in order. Between the sunlight that was twinkling off of the blue lake to his left, the terracotta colored gravel under his worn in Asics, and Johns labored breathing beside him, he was soon in his own personal Zen.

Rebecca nor Cameron hadn't called him all week.

They hadn't left on bad terms. She was sad, for sure; but not angry. She said she would miss him, and went to get Cameron ready for school, giving him a kiss as a black Lincoln with black windows honked from the driveway.

_While she went to go get Cam, Shawn picked up the little girl with caramel-tinted hair and sparkling_ _blue eyes. She had been happily bouncing up and down in her high-chair, gumming on a handful of cheerios. She clung to him like she would her favorite teddy bear._

"_Oh, Water bug. Don't grow up to much. I want to see everything ya' do." He inhaled her scent of Johnson's shampoo and baby formula, and tears stung his eyes._

"_Daddy's leaving now, Water bug, but I'll be back soon, so don't you worry you're pretty little head._

_She just gurgles and squealed blew wet raspberries into his shoulder. She was back in her chair when Cameron came bounding down the steps._

_The boy was an anomaly to Shawn, although he was pretty much created in his image. He had blonde hair and a pair of familiar blue friendly eyes. He was small for his age, skinny and pale. A pair of thick black glasses perched on his nose that was clearly inherited from his father. A heavy backpack that probably weighed as much as he did, was fastened to his back._

_Shawn was never an academic and was always athletic and into sports, not letting his smaller frame stop him; his son on the other hand, was, not even bragging, extremely bright._

_In school, the teachers had written the boy off as hyper-active, inattentive and dim. Shawn had taken the commentary with a grain of salt; they had described him as a child to a T, and he didn't think anything of it. Like father, like son_

_Thank god for Rebecca. She had the boy in the psychiatrist's office the next day, where they watch the small child play with a plethora of different toys in a large room with a doctor and his parents watching him from behind a mirror._

_Cameron had perused all the toys carefully and non-comittedly; touching things and putting them back in place, seemingly unimpressed. Finally, 10 minutes later, he had lined up a number of different dolls, from GI Joe's to Barbie's, (much to Shawn's dismay) and found a set of fake plastic cutlery from a picnic kit. Before any of the adults could predict was the young kid might do, he was spearing the dolls with the knives and forks._

_Rebecca and Shawn looked on horrified as they watched there first born baby boy, go Jeffrey Dahmer on the dolls._

_The psychiatrist only raised his eyebrows and said in a calm, but still cheery voice, "Well, I've never seen the toys used, in -that- manner before."_

_The Doctor had said that Cameron wasn't stupid, or slow; he was bored, he needed challenges. So Rebecca had signed him up for piano lessons and Shawn had signed him up for swim team._

_Now, a year later, piano was going strong,just another thing he excelled at,and sports were something the child only watched on TV or played with his dad. Organized sports were written off, completely. He also completely surpassed the other kids in his class and was moved right in with the next grade, where he still excelled. Shawn didn't really get this smart, little adult, but he knew he loved him. And if anyone hurt him, he would probably kill them._

_Shawn walked up to the slight boy and kneeled in front of him. "I'm leaving now, son."_

_The kid sighed, "I saw the bags, dad; I know"._

"_So you know you're the man of the house then, right?"_

_Cameron sniffed non-committedly. "I guess"._

"_Hey. None of that. I'll see you soon."_

"_Can I at least watch you on TV this time?" he begged._

"_We'll see; I'll discuss it with your mother. Are you to mad at me to give me a hug?" and the boy leapt into Shawn's open arms. "See ya soon, buddy." And he let him go get inside the minivan in the garage._

_Rebecca had a diaper bag strung across her shoulder, and now had the tiny girl balanced on her hip. She leaned her head up for a final kiss and half a hug, before retreating into the garage, following Cam._

_Shawn was left standing in the kitchen alone, with the limo driver obnoxiously honking his horn. Shawn walked out and locked the door, then stepped into the car._

_Not even a call from Cameron or Rebs came after his match at Wrestlemania. He loved his wife, but being away from his kids for so long was soul crushing. People would always ask him if he thinks that because he has a family and children now if he became softer, or more paternal, or lost his edge. Shawn of course had to stay in character and answer gruffly, but if he were to be completely honest, being a parent made him more aggressive; he now had something that he would kill and die for, and that is truly how he felt._

They had run about 7 miles before Shawn noticed John slow down to a walk.

"Shawn -breathe-. I have to stop. -breathe-" He stopped and bent over his knees to catch his breathe some more.

Shawn wiped the sweat that had settled on his forehead with his shoulder before pacing around the younger man.

"Jesus Christ, Michaels, you're like a fuckin fairy." Shawn just raised and eyebrow and continued to take steady easy breathes.

"Do you want me to hit you again? You've done nothing but insult me since we woke up! First I'm a prude, then I'm old and now I'm a fairy cause' I run faster then you? Someone's a cranky-pants in the morning…"

"Haha. Shut up. You just run like you're a fuckin' cat or somethin'."

"Well you run like a big, dumb animal!"

"Holy fuck! I'm trying to tell you I'm impressed. God damn, Michaels! Take the compliment!" and he shoved Shawn in the shoulder with, what he thought was a light push, but ended up sending the man off of the path, nearly colliding into another jogger.

"You _are_ a big, dumb animal! You don't know your own strength." Shawn said with a smile and a shove back to the younger man.

"So, I have a confession for ya." He looked at Shawn guiltily. "I had to stop about a mile back, but you were so gone in thought I couldn't grab your attention. So what were you thinking about?"

"Nothing" he answered quickly. "Hey look, we're on Fullerton. We can walk through the zoo before meeting up with the girls for breakfast."

John raised his eyebrows, but shrugged and dropped the subject, as they walked through the gates and into the zoo.

He knew he shouldn't be as excited as he felt when he was in the zoo, but this sense of complete carelessness had settled upon him, that he couldn't even pretend not to be thrilled to be where he was; even in front of Shawn.

As the two grown men walked down the tidy, well groomed cobblestone paths and followed it into the reptile and small mammal's exhibit. They were in good company though, because there were a number of other people running through the zoo and stopping to look at specific exhibits and visiting there favorite animals.

Inside the slightly humid exhibit, John walked through and went to the nearest glass cage and stuck his face against the side to peer in. Shawn followed behind, and stood behind him waiting for the younger mans reaction to what he saw.

They continued on throughout the room, peering through the walls until the got to a larger cage that seemed to hold at least 15 small furry kittens.

John read the sign above the cage, "_Felis margarita_ Loche. Yeah, how can I say this as manly as possible; these are the cutest things ever?"

"John, you're a grown professional wrestler inside of a zoo, you should just cut your balls off now. Besides; Felis marga-fuck it. There fuckin' domestic house cats in a giant cage with a fancy name."

"Yeah, kiss my ass Michaels, cause you've been here twice in two days now." He turned back to the cats playing in the cage. "But you're right; they do look like kittens!" He chuckled.

Shawn held up his hands with a smile, "touché".

John grinned and grabbed Shawn by the forearm and drug him out of the dark room to the next exhibit.

They continued through the zoo, at a quick pace stopping to see the polar bear, the penguins and the giraffes.

When they reached the bird house they were walking through until John stopped to look at the colorful little lovebirds that were huddled on a branch nearby, singing sweetly in the morning sun. John watched them for a few minutes in silence before turning to Shawn; "Do birds have ears, cause I don't see any?

"No. Lucky them, they don't have to listen to you." John glared at him for the sarcastic comment. Shawn sighed, "How the fuck should I know? Does it look like I have an encyclopedia tattooed to my ass? Jesus Christ, didn't you go to college? What do they teach you?"

John just laughed, "Ok! Just a question… and yeah I did; so shut up. Besides," he grinned, "College taught me not to fall asleep in front of guys, remember?" He smirked.

Shawn gave a crooked smile, "Yeah, for the ...eh, six weeks I went, I mostly learned how to pray to the porcelin God. Good thing I got kicked out, or I would have gone into liver failure at the ripe age of 20." He looked down and walked faster, ahead of John.

John watched him and filed away the information he had just learned about his associate and more importantly, a seemingly new close friend.

He looked at his watch and heard his stomach groan loudly. "I need food; now. Let's go meet the girls."

Shawn raised his eyebrow and unclipped his cell phone from his waist, "Ok, just as well. We only have about 2 hours before we need to be back to be on time for out flight." And he quickly dialed Trish's number and told them where to meet up.

He snapped his phone shut, "they're still about 10 minutes away so I told them we would meet them inside the diner on Webster; Maria said they have fantastic french toast. They already gave me their orders and they expect it on the table by the time they arrive; their majesties." Shawn summed up the conversation with a roll of very blue eyes.

John shook his head, "women."

They walked out of the zoo and down the road in silence until they got to the diner. Shawn ordered two cups of coffee for the girls and a glass of cranberry juice for himself. John ordered a cup of coffee also. The two men put in the orders for the food and they sipped there beverage in silence; Shawn's mind back on his family and John's back on what Shawn could be thinking of that puts the generally easygoing man into such a somber state.

"Shawn, dude, you're cool right? I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but if you want someone to just listen, I'm here for you. I mean, you did entertain me last night, so call it fair trade?" He ended with a joke.

Shawn looked up in to John's eyes. He seemed sincere enough, and it's not like he cared what the younger man thought anyway, _Right,Shawn?_so what the hell.

AN: Hey all! Thanks for the great reviews and please keep them coming. This chapter was kind of hard to write, so go easy on me, ok? And please stick with me, as I do know that this is kind of going a little slow. But good things take a little more time, right? I have a couple ideas of where i;m going with this, but nothing definate.

Also, I have finals coming around the corner, so no new chapter for probably ... eh, three weeks. Sorry, but you can blame my professors.

sky-queen3: lol. I don't think so, but whatever. I really don't think there are many of us who like this pairing either!

hardygirl14: Hey dude, thanks for all the compliments; I always look forward to your comments! Yeah mid-terms are over, now I have finals! This tri-mester system I'm on blows. The story:Yeah, the guys are so confused and they have no idea what's going on, especially Shawn, which you get more of in this chapter. Maria is a fun character to write, but I kind of love her with Carlito! But for now, she's just a fun girl who likes being around fun people; for now. Thanks again for the compliments, and thanks for sticking with me!

Tacoto the 12: Awe thanks so much, man! I'm so happy that people are liking this pairing that I love so much! Please continue to read and review with your comments. I love hearing what you think.

Kiora Storm: Oh! Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad I can invoke those emotions, cause that was what I wanted! John is such a character! That's what I love about him. I wish they would let him be a little more light-hearted on the show, but whatever. And we all know the Shawn is just a big goofball, with his cocky attitude and facial expressions. Oh I just love em' both! I do like Maria, so I can't write her off completely. Right now she's part of a long-term plan in my story, but we'll see... Thanks for the comments, and please keep them coming.

kandiland: Thanks so much! I hope you continue to read and review, because I appreciate it so much. And I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

I'm Like a Rose Rough but Pretty: lol. Touché'. However, I go to college that's located 10 minutes walking from a zoo, and me and my friends go there about every week to visit the animals. And not to make gross generalizations, but most of my friends are actors (we have a pretty amazing theater department) and they love the zoo even more then I do; guys and girls alike! So to each there own I suppose. I hope you continue to read and review, I really need opinions like yours; they keep me in perspective, ya know?

bottomgod: Awe, man! Thanks so much! They are very attractive; like woah. And they're even more adorable together. Please continue to review and read and enjoy, because I love hearing what you think.

Rolling Thunder 420: Awe, I love Maria! She's so cute. But For now this will be a Michaels/Cena fic, cause they have such awesome chemistry that needs to be explored. I hope you enjoy this chapter and continue to let me know what you think, like/dislike.

sploink8654: That's very receptive of you; I was going for a Maria/Cena/HBK feeling and tension. Cause as much chemistry as John and Maria have, I think she worked really well with Shawn in that one interview; they played very well off of each other. I'm glad you like this chapter and I hope that you keep letting me know what you think, cause I love hearing it.

Cenaluver4433: Hey man! Thanks for the review and the encouragement! I hope you continue to read and review with your thoughts. If you see something that doesn't seem to fit, by all means, call me on it! Since I don't have a beta-reader, It's up to you all to put my in my place! Haha. Enjoy the chapter!

Yeah – So I took your advice. Do you think this is a little better?


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